Consumers of poultry meat primarily prefer the breast meat portion of poultry. Because of this preference, strains of poultry have been bred to produce high proportions of breast meat as a percentage of total body weight. In contrast to such methods of genetic control of poultry body structure, however, no methods of environmental control of breast weight to body weight ratio are known to be effective. Development of methods of environmental control of poultry breast weight to body weight ratio, therefore, are desirable.
In addition to concerns about poultry breast weight to body weight ratio, modern animal husbandry practices, in an effort to maximize production, tend to crowd large numbers of poultry or livestock into relatively small breeding areas. Such crowding produces stress for the animals which creates undesirable effects on the animals. For instance, high levels of stress can cause increased mortality and increased occurrence of air sac lesions. The efficiency of breeding operations is negatively affected by such problems and results in the loss of substantial amounts of money throughout the industry. Accordingly, a need exists for methods of animal husbandry to reduce mortality and occurrence of air sac lesions in poultry and livestock.
The present invention relates to a method and composition for increasing the breast weight to body weight ratio of poultry which involves the use of an effective compound. This effective compound is also useful for reducing mortality and occurrence of air sac lesions in poultry and livestock.
Specific embodiments of the effective compound of the present invention are produced by Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd. of Japan, under the trade name "Neosugar". For example, in Oku, et al., Non-digestibility of a New Sweetener, "Neosugar," in the Rat, J. of Nutrition, v. 114, No. 9, pp. 1575-81 (1984), Neosugar is described as a mixture of 1-kestose, nystose, and 1-fructofuranosyl nystose which was studied for digestibility in rats. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,771 to Adachi, et al. (July 21, 1987), U.K. Pat. No. GB 2,072,679 and U.K. Pat. No. GB 2,150,338, owned by Meiji Seika, which discuss the use of Neosugar compositions as low-cariogenic and low-calorie sweeteners.
Neosugar has also been identified by Meiji Seika as a useful composition for remedying scours in young domestic animals to increase their weight in their growing period in U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,402 (Mar. 29, 1988). This patent also discloses that the use of fructooligosaccharides with poultry improves body weight gain and feed conversion. European Patent Application No. 85109590.1 identifies similar effects of "inulooligosaccharides" on animals.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 107,115 (filed on Oct. 13, 1987), which is commonly owned with the present invention, discloses the use of Neosugar for inhibiting the growth of Salmonella and, in particular, for preventing or controlling the intestinal colonization of food animals by Salmonella.
Neosugar is produced by the enzymatic reaction of a fructosyl transferase enzyme acting on a sucrose substrate For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,771. Other uses and methods for producing similar fructo-oligosaccharide-containing compositions are known. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,317,880, 4,335,207, and 4,356,262 which are owned by CPC International, Inc. These references describe the production of a mixture of fructooligosaccharides for use as an intermediate substrate for the subsequent production of high fructose-containing syrups.
No known references disclose the use of Neosugar for increasing the breast weight to body weight ratio in poultry or for decreasing mortality and occurrence of air sac lesions in poultry and livestock.